While Seattle and Bellevue are closing school buildings as enrollment falls, Northshore School District north of Seattle is doing the opposite: moving into the most intensive phase of a $425 million construction campaign to tear down and replace schools that have been standing since the Johnson administration.
The district, which serves roughly 23,000 students across Bothell, Woodinville, Kenmore, and surrounding communities in King and Snohomish counties, is now hiring architects and engineers for five simultaneous capital projects: a replacement of Shelton View Elementary, a second-phase replacement of Inglemoor High School, a second-phase replacement of Leota Middle School, an expansion of Kokanee Elementary, and district-wide civil engineering and landscape architecture work. The full scope of activity is listed on the district's purchasing page.
Inglemoor High School opened in 1964 and Leota Middle School in 1969, both products of the first suburban boom that filled northeast King County with tract homes and the schools to serve them. Those buildings are now well past their intended design lives. The same growth patterns that originally built them are still at work: the I-405 corridor anchored by Amazon, Microsoft, and their supplier networks has pushed families steadily into Bothell and Woodinville for over a decade, making Northshore one of the few large Puget Sound districts still adding students year over year.
Voters approved the $425 million bond in February 2022 with roughly 62% support, on a second attempt after an earlier measure fell short. Construction has been underway in phases since then. Inglemoor and Leota are now in Phase 2, and Innovation Lab High School is on Phase 3, meaning several of these projects have been active for years. Temporary portable classrooms are still in use at some campuses while permanent construction catches up.
Post-pandemic construction cost inflation has stretched those 2022 bond dollars, a pressure felt across Washington, where local bonds remain the primary funding mechanism for school construction amid the aftermath of the state Supreme Court's McCleary decision. The district appears to be looking ahead: active solicitations for Capital Bond Planning Services and Building Condition Assessment Services signal that Northshore is already scoping a potential next bond measure, likely targeting 2026 or 2028.
The district is also navigating leadership uncertainty. An active superintendent search suggests another transition may be underway for current Superintendent Michael Tolley, who was placed following the 2022 departure of Michelle Reid to lead Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia. A Strategic Plan Refresh and a formal Enrollment Demographics Task Force are also underway, suggesting the district is reassessing its growth projections as it commits to major facilities decisions.
Design work on the current round of school projects is expected to advance through 2025 and into 2026, with construction timelines dependent on how quickly architect selections are finalized.
